Cotton-press.



j Mmmm@ By fmQJm-M W. M. THOMAS. CTTN4 PRESS.

(Application med Feb. 2o, 1900. Renwed .my 12, 1901.)

Patented Aug. 20, 190|.

fun. asoz. Pagented Aug. 2o, |901.

w. M. THoMAs. COTTON PRESS. (Application le Reb. 20, 1900. Renewed July 12., 1901.)

(Nd Model.) 3 SheetsfSheeI: 2.

TH: Nonms Ps'zns 9o. Fumo-LINO.. wAswws-ron, n L

mf 6311x332:n Patented AugQ 2o, 196|; w. m. THoMAs.

COTTON PRESS.v

(Application medien-20, 1900. RenewedAJuly 12, 1901.) Y (No Muriel.; 3 Sheets-Sheet-3.`

Vil/A W/TNESSES.- i j f BY N MMQW-N u 4f/@myn To @ZZ whom t mai/concern,.-

" u lNrifnn STATES PATENT Erica..

'WILLIAM THOMAS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE THOMAS COTTON COMPANY, `OF SAME PLACE.

coTToN-Pi-'uass.`

SIEE'CIFICIATION` forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,082, dated August 20, 1901. Application filed February 20, 1900. Renewed July 12, 1901. Serial No. 68,107. (No model.)

i Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Presses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

`and exact description of the invention, such `as will enable others` skilled in the art to IO` whichit apper'tainsto make and use the same.

My invention is an improvement in cottonbaling presses for producing a coreless cylindrical bale, or a bale in which the bat is wound spirally upon itself without the `use of a core.

or mandrel; and it consists in the novel features hereinafter' described, reference being l had to the accompanying drawings, which `illustrate one form in which I have contemplated embodying my` invention, and said in-` `vention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

u Referring to the drawings, Figure lrepresents an end view of a press embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is aside viewfof the same. Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are diagrammatic views `illustrating the dierent positions which the upper or movable rolls assume during the formation of a bale and up to the time of discharging the finished bale. Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail illustrating the clutch mechanism for stop ping the lower or non-movable roller when the bale is discharged. Fig.

. l 8 is a detail sectional view showing the means for supporting the irotary head or end plate for preventing the roll from being forced with a bearing-sleeve a', in which is mounted thestationarypivotshaft B.`

C` represents the lower or non-movable compressing-relier or bale-forming roller,

. which is mounted rigidly upon a shaft c, supported in suitable bearings formed in the main frame of the machine.

D represents a hanger or pivoted frame for `carrying themovable roller C', said hanger being providedwithtwo perforated ears or sleeves d, pivotally engaging the pivot-shaft B andhaving downwardly-extending arms cl', provided at their lower ends withbearingsleeves cl2, in which are mounted the shaft c' of the roller C', the said roller C' being mounted rigidly upon said shaft bctween the arms CZ d of the hanger. D represents a similar hanger" provided with perforated ears d3 d5, pivotally mounted on the shaft B, as shown, and carrying the bearings in which is mounted the shaft c2 of the other upper or movable roller C2, the two hangers being substantially identical in construction and extending on opposite sides of a perpendicular plane passing through the shaft B.

Motion is imparted-to the three bale-formingm'rollers C, C', and C2 by the following mechanism: Upon the shaft `c of the station- `ary roller C (see Fig. 7) isinounted a sleeve c3, loosely mounted on said shaft and provided with a driving gear-Wheel C3 and a geari C is provided with a gear C5, and the shaft c2 of the roller C2 is provided with a gear C6, both of said gears being in the vertical plane of the gear C4. Motion is imparted from the gear C4 to the gear C5 by means of an idler or idle gear C7, mounted upon a stud c4,which stud is connected by links c5 c5 with the shaft c and by links c6 c6 with the shaft c', so that the motion shall always be transmitted, no matter what position is assumed by the roller C. Motion is transmitted from the gear C4 to the gear C6 by means of an idle gear C8, mounted on a stud c7, which stud is connected by links o8.. c8 to the shaft candbylinks 09 o9 to the shaft c2. I provide a clutch mechanism between the driving gear-wheel C3 and the shaft c of the stationary roller C, so that the rotation of said shaft may be stopped without stopping the rotation of the other rollers. In

`wheel C4, formed integrally with or rigidly A IOO From the foregoing description it will be llt move upward and outward in paths concentric with the axis of the shaft B. I provide the following means for exerting a downward pressure of the desired degree upon sail rollers, so as to roll on the bat in the formation of the bale under the desiredpressure. To this end-I provide at each end of themachine a cylinder E, provided with a suitable piston (not shown) and piston-rod e, the upper end of which is provided with a Vcross-head. e', adapted to slide on the guide-rod e2, extending from the cylinder to the shaft B. Each cross-head e' is connected by a link E with the shaft c' of the roller O and by a link E2 with the shaft c2of the roller C2. The cylinders E E are connected with a pipe leading to a fiuid-pressu re supply, which may be hydraulic, steam, or compressed air, or pressure by friction-brake, as preferred, and by this means the bale can be formed under the desired pressure, regulated by the pressure of the fluid supplied to the cylinder. In the present instance I have illustrated a Huidpressure-supply pipe F,which is connected to each of the cylinders EE by suitableleadingpipes ff. I also prefer to provide `a smaller cylinder G, provided with a piston g, working therein, the piston-rod g of which is operatively connected to the bell-crank lever g2, one arm of which is `provided with a'yo'ke g3, engaging an annular groove 010 in the clutch member 'C10 for the purpose of throwing said clutch member into and out of gear with the i der pressure from the pipe Fto opposite sides of the piston g.

In order to render the operation ofthe maj chine automatic, I prefer to provide the following construction: One of the cross-heads e, preferably the one adjacent'to the bellcrank lever g2, is provided with a stud4 e3, to

which is connected a vertical rod H, which I term a stop-rod, said rod being provided with two adjustable stops h h in the form of collars adjustably secured to the rod I-I byy means of set-screws.

F represents a cock or valve of such construction as to be capable of controlling the admission. of fluid under pressure to vthe cylinders E E and the clutch-operating cylinder G, said cock being provided with an operatingarm or lever F2,provided with a yoke F3, adapted to engage the stop-rod I-I between the adjustable stops .h and h.

rllhe operation of the machine will be as follows: Prior to the formation of the bale the :rollers C C2 will be in a lowerxnost position, as illustrated in Fig. 3. an inclined extensible chute I, which hasi'ts parts, as shown in Fig. l. From the chute I the bat passes under a feeding roller K,

volve with the other roller.

The bat isfed down mounted in bearings secured to the hanger D', the shaft of said roller being provided with a small pinion lo, (see Fig. 1,) meshing with the gear-wheel C, from which it receives motion. The valve-operating lever F2 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, in which position the cook or valve F is in position to admit the fluid under pressure to the cylinders E E and to the upper side of the piston g, thereby holding the clutch member C19 in engagement with the clutch member O9 and causing the shaft c and lower roller C to re- Motion is imparted to the driving-gear C3 from a suitable driving-shaft L, provided with a driving-pinion Z, engaging the gear C3, and having also a band-pulley or other driving device Z. When the formation of a bale commences, the rollers are in the position illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 3, the three rollers C, C', and C2 being close together. The bat after passing between the feed-roller K and the upper roller O2 passes into the space between the three rollers and is wound spirally upon itself vto form the vfirst or central portion of the bale, which gradually increases in size until it is of sufficient density to exert an upward pressure upon the movable rollers C C2. When .the upward pressure of the bale is sufficient to overcome the pressure of. the fluid supplied to the cylinders E E, the said upper rollers will move upwardly and outwardly, as indicated diagrammatically in Figs. 4 and 5, until the bale reaches the desired size, which is controlled by the position of the lower stop -h on the stop-rod H.

`Vlhen this stop h is raised suflciently, it

will engage theyoke F3 on the `valve-operating lever F2 and operate said lever, thereby cutting off the supply of iuid under pressure to the cylinders E E, cutting od the supply of fluid under pressure to the upper side of the piston g and admitting the lluid to the lower side ofthe piston g. The-piston g will immediately move upward, thereby throwing out the clutch member C10 from engagement with the gear-wheel C3 and disconnecting the shaft c and roller C, thus stopping said roller to allowthe other lrollers to continue to revolve. The .Huid-pressure having been cut off from lthe cylinders E, there is 'no further resistance to the upward movement of lthe upper rollers, save their own weight, and the lower roller having 4stopped the continued rotation of the upper rollers in the directions indicated by the arrows (see particularly Fig. 6) will cause the roller Cito roll the bale out of the press, as clearly indicated in that figure, at the same time breaking .the bat. As soon as the bale has passed from under the roller C2, the upper rollers will descend by their own weight, pushing down the piston in the cylinders E E until the Aupper IOO IIO

stop h on the stop-rod H engages the valveoperating lever F2 and `moves it down, thereby readmitting the uid under pressure to the cylinders E and to the upper side of the pis- 1 ing formed from expanding longitudinally beyond the ends of the three bale-forming Ipo rollers, I provide at each end of said rollers a circular revoluble head M, (see Fig. 8,)

mounted upon a stud m, carried in bearings m l mfs on the lower ends of links m3 m4, which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the hangers D and D', respectively. The

said bearings extend through a slot d2, i formed in each of the vertical standards ci of the main frame. The arrangement of the links m3` m4 is such that the axes of rotation of the heads Mare always in line with the axis of rotation of the bale during its formation.

. What I claim, and desire to secure by Let- `ters Patent, is-

1 l.` In a cotton-baling-press, the combination with the stationary and movable bale-forming 3, y rollers, of mechanism for revolving said rolli ers including a clutch for disconnecting one of `said rollers without stopping the others, pressure devices for exerting a pressure on said movable rollers in a direction toward the stationary roller, a controlling device for releasing said pressure devices and an automatic device operated by the movement of said movable rollers away from the stationary roller for operating said controlling device and clutch to effect the discharge of the j finished bale, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton-baling press, the combination l with a stationary roller and movable rollers, mechanism for driving all of said rollers ini cluding a clutch for disconnecting one of said l rollers withoutstopping the movement of the mso.

others,fluidpressure devices operatively connected with said movable rollers, a controlling-valve therefor and automatic devices operatively connected with said movable rollers n for operating said-clutch and said controllingvalve to eect the automatic discharge of the `finished bale, substantially as described.

3. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary roller and movable rollers, of means for imparting rotary motion to all of said rollers including a clutch for disconnecting one of said rollers from its driving mechanism without stopping the other rollers,fluid-pressure devices operatively connected with said movable rollers, a controlling device therefor, means for operating said clutch and a stop-bar provided with adjustable stops for effecting the operation of said controlling-valve and clutch, substantially as described.

4. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary roller and movable rollers, of means for imparting rotary motion to all of said rollers including a clutch for disconnecting one of said rollers from its driving mechanism without stopping the other rollers,iiuid-pressure devices operatively connected with said movable rollers, a Huid-pressure device for operating said clutch, a valve controlling said duid-pressure devices and `said fluid-pressure clutch-operating device and a stop-bar operatively connected with said movable rollers and provided with adjustable stops for moving said controlling-valve, substantially as described.

5. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary roller and movable rollers, of means for imparting rotary motion to all of said rollers including a clutch for disconnecting one of said rollers from its driving mechanism Without stopping the other rollers, fluid pressure devices operatively connected with said movable rollers, a fluidpressure clutch-controlling device, a controlling-valve for controlling the supply of fluid to said fluid-pressure devices and said iiuidpressure clutch-operating device, an operating-lever connected to said valve, a stop-rod operatively connected with said movable rollers and provided with adjustable stops for engaging said lever, substantially` as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

VILLIAM M. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

FRANK W. BIGELow, WILLIAM I-I. REEVES. 

